Refrigerated truckload spot linehaul rates in the United States averaged $2.74 per mile during the week ending September 4, 2026, according to DAT Freight and Analytics. That reading is up 1.9 percent, or 5 cents, from the prior week and 34.4 percent, or 70 cents, higher than the same week of 2025. It sits 27.2 percent above the nine-year seasonal average of $2.15 per mile.

The 10 reefer bellwether states posted a moves-weighted outbound rate of $3.63 per mile, up 1.3 percent week over week and up 35.8 percent year over year. Those states carried 40.2 percent of US state-outbound reefer loads, at the upper end of a 38 to 42 percent baseline.

Rates by origin region ranged widely. The Great Lakes led at $3.53 per mile, up 44.1 percent year over year, followed by the Upper Midwest at $3.50 and the Ohio River region at $3.38. The Pacific Northwest posted the largest weekly gain at 5.8 percent, reaching $2.77 per mile. The Lower Mountain region sat at the bottom of the top 10 at $2.33 per mile. The top 10 origins carried 84.3 percent of US outbound loads for the week.

The DAT 35-day rate forecast places reefer spot linehaul at $2.68 per mile in mid-October, within a band of about 6 cents. The comparable actual rate near that date in 2025 was $2.07 per mile. All figures exclude fuel costs and surcharges.

Source: DAT Freight and Analytics - https://www.dat.com/blog/reefer-report-yakima-tree-fruit-runs-away-with-produce-seasons-richest-rates